Police vans to be fitted with CCTV to uncover hidden abuse [Commissioner’s pledge]

Hundreds of police vans are to be fitted with closed-circuit television cameras to address concerns about the “hidden” abuse of suspects.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe promised the £4m refit of all Metropolitan Police vans during a meeting with the family of Sean Rigg, a mentally ill man who died in controversial circumstances in police custody in August 2008.

The Commissioner is also expected to announce an independent commission into the way that police respond to cases involving mentally ill people. It follows concerns that officers were left to deal with some of society’s most vulnerable people without proper back-up from health agencies.

Mr Hogan-Howe has said he believes cameras in vans will both prevent police wrongdoing and help identify false claims against officers.

His commitment follows allegations that a police officer racially abused a black man arrested in the aftermath of the London riots. The abuse was allegedly captured by mobile phone as there was no recording equipment fitted inside the van. The officer, Constable Alex MacFarlane, 53, who denies racially abusing the suspect, faces trial in October.